Contact: Brad Hill
STARKVILLE, Miss.— Compelling photographs by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer José Galvez will be on display Sept. 7-29 in Mississippi State University’s Colvard Student Union Art Gallery.
Titled “Aqui Estamos/Here We Are: Latino Life in the United States,” the second-floor exhibition showcases Galvez’s ability to capture scenes depicting the daily life of Latinos living in the U.S. The exhibit is part of the university’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
A 5 p.m. reception in Galvez’s honor will take place Tuesday [Sept. 19] in front of the Colvard Student Union Art Gallery. Regular gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Sunday, as well as by appointment. Guests are encouraged to sign the art gallery visitor’s log for the duration of Galvez’s exhibition.
Over the last 40 years, Galvez has used black and white film to create a powerful historical record of the Latino experience in America. He strives to capture these daily experiences with respect, pride and no pretense. Galvez’s interest in photography developed at a young age, when he began working at the Arizona Daily Star.
Galvez later earned a degree in journalism from the University of Arizona and went on to become the first Mexican-American photographer at the Los Angeles Times. In 1984, he was part of a team of reporters and photographers that received a Pulitzer Prize for a series on Latino life in southern California, making them the first Chicanos to win the highly coveted award.
Galvez’s work currently focuses on Latino communities of the American South and naturalization ceremonies, and he also documents the many communities he visits every year. His photographs have been exhibited in galleries and museums in the U.S. and abroad, including the Smithsonian.
Additional information on the “Aqui Estamos/Here We Are: Latino Life in the United States” exhibit is available from Brad Hill, MSU assistant director for student activities, at 662-325-2930 or bhill@saffairs.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.